“No one needs this oil refinery,” says Bekah Hinojosa, co-founder of South Texas Environmental Justice Network, a grassroots organization based in the Rio Grande Valley. Her organization, which advocates for environmental justice and fights for protections from polluting industries, is sounding the alarm about America First Refining’s plans to build the first new oil refinery in 50 years in Brownsville, Texas. In early March, President Trump announced his support for the project—just as regulatory rollbacks, such as EPA’s delay of strong methane rules for oil and gas operations, are making it easier for polluting industries to expand. The timing is no coincidence.
Tell Congress: Hold Zeldin Accountable for Corrupting EPA’s Mission
This proposed refinery has actually been an ongoing battle for nearly a decade. In 2017, another company, Jupiter Brownsville LLC, initially applied for permits to build the facility. The Shrimpers and Fishermen of the Rio Grande Valley, a local commercial fishing community group, filed a formal challenge to the refinery’s air permit shortly thereafter. They argued that the permit was incomplete because it left out key details about soot pollution, did not fully describe the proposed refinery’s design, and used incorrect pollution estimates. They also warned that the refinery would push the local ozone levels above the legal limit of 70 parts per billion.
A decision on this challenge was delayed in 2019, when Jupiter was sued into bankruptcy. But two years later, after an administrative hearing, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) ultimately approved the permit. Since then, things have been on hold while the company has rebranded several times—first to ARX Energy, then Element Fuel Holdings, and finally to America First Refining—and developers have requested extensions on the construction start date three times.
President Trump’s recent endorsement has brought renewed attention to the project, and community members are outraged by its resurgence. “I have received calls and emails every day from residents who do not want to see this refinery built,” says Bekah.
If America First Refining begins construction by TCEQ’s October 2027 deadline for the project, the refinery would be located directly across the Brownsville Ship Channel from the Shrimp Basin—a historic commercial shrimping and fishing dock on the Gulf of Mexico. It would release the potent climate pollutant methane plus a host of harmful emissions, such as soot, nitrous oxides, nitrogen dioxide, and volatile organic compounds, into the air and water. These pollutants are linked to respiratory illness, asthma, lung cancer, impaired immune health, heart attacks, strokes, metabolic disorders like diabetes, preterm birth, and nervous system effects, including cognitive effects.
The burden on the local community would be amplified, as many residents in the Rio Grande Valley lack health insurance or access to adequate health care should they fall sick from the refinery’s pollution—and the region already faces high rates of cancer and diabetes.
Beyond the health risks, the refinery poses a serious threat to the Rio Grande Valley’s diverse ecosystem and its thriving ecotourism industry, which includes the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, home to endangered species like the ocelot. Many locals depend on jobs connected to ecotourism, from dolphin watch tours and sports fishing to shrimping to supply local restaurants.
The region is also in a severe water crisis, driven by worsening climate-fueled drought, overuse of groundwater, and aging infrastructure. This crisis has left residents fearing more water shortages and contamination and adds yet another layer of risk to an already fragile environment.
Local parent John Montez recently heard about the refinery through social media and was immediately frustrated. He has already reduced family visits to Boca Chica Beach and South Padre Island because of concerns about how pollution from the nearby SpaceX facility will affect their health. He is now worried that this possible refinery project will make local air and water quality even worse. He’s especially concerned about how the refinery will deal with its waste products. He wants more transparency around local government decisions about this project. “We need leaders who are for the people, not big companies,” John says.
South Texas Environmental Justice Network has been at the forefront of this fight for the last seven years, through all the ups and downs, company name changes, and community concerns. Their grassroots organizing and protests of the project’s permits have already helped to delay it. Their plan is to keep up the pressure, showing up at the Port of Brownsville Commission and TCEQ to ensure they don’t forget the constituents they are serving in conversations about this dangerous project—because no community should be left to bear the health burden of toxic pollution.
As Bekah puts it, “At the end of the day, officials cannot escape their constituents. We need to demand they listen to us because we are not going away.”
Tell Congress: Hold Zeldin Accountable for Corrupting EPA’s Mission